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Goleta keeps on growing. Nearly a dozen years after it attained cityhood and now boasting a population of more than 30,000 residents, the Good Land has a slew of development coming down its monarch-rich pike. From hotels and housing units to places to eat, work, and play, there are projects galore that are proposed, pending, and recently approved. But when it comes to the city’s expansion, there are pro-growthers, slow-growthers, and no-growthers. Advocates argue that many of the projects will make the city hospitable to business and help line its coffers. Others would prefer a longer window between plan approvals, with time to see how the combined projects work together. And some don’t want much development at all, saying that the increased traffic ​— ​chiefly along the Hollister Avenue corridor, especially as it heads toward Storke Road ​— ​and possibly reduced mountain views aren’t what will make Goleta great. Below are just 13 projects that could soon call the Good Land home.

Map guide to Goleta development

1) UCSB’s San Joaquin Apartments

Where: Corner of Storke and El Colegio roads

What: The Santa Catalina freshman dorm could be getting sophomore neighbors if this housing for about 1,000 students ​— ​across 160-200 units ​— ​gets the go-ahead.

Status: The project still needs final approval from UC Regents, but it is expected to be up and running by fall 2016.

2) Marriott Hotel

Where: 401 Storke Road

What: The 115-room hotel provides another option for Goleta visitors ​— ​especially parents of UCSB students ​— ​and is projected to generate about $500,000 a year in bed tax revenue.

Status: Opened in August 2012

3) Ice in Paradise

Where: 6985 Santa Felicia Drive

What: This ice-skating facility near the Camino Real Marketplace would feature two rinks, a snack bar, and a rec room.

Status: The project has raised about $6.5 million in donations, but still needs more than $1 million to achieve groundbreaking.

4) McDonald’s Drive-Through

Where: 6900 Marketplace Drive

What: The existing Camino Real Marketplace restaurant could soon get its long-awaited drive-through, which has been championed for its convenience but derided for its possible effects on traffic. The project would also come with a new crosswalk across Storke Road and an extended median at the shopping center’s Storke entrance.

Status: It was approved by the Planning Commission in October. That decision was appealed by the Goodland Coalition shortly after; in November, the City Council decided to postpone a final decision on the drive-through to a future meeting.

5) Haskell’s Landing

Where: Hollister Avenue and Las Armas Road

What: There will be 101 residential units across from the Sandpiper Golf Course.

Status: Construction is underway.

6) Taco Bell

Where: At the corner of Hollister Avenue and Pacific Oaks Road, in the University Village Shopping Center

What: A third Taco Bell for Goleta (there are two on different stretches of Fairview) would be the first with a drive-through.

Status: The fast-food joint is still making its way through the early stages of the approval process.

7) Hollister Village

(also known as Westar)

Where: 7000 Hollister Avenue

What: To be located across from the Camino Real Marketplace, this project marks a new breed of mixed-use space in Goleta, with its 266 apartments constructed alongside a 75,000-square-foot shopping center, which is slated to include a drugstore, grocery store, and restaurants.

Status: Developers expect everything to be up and running in 2015.

8) Rincon Palms Hotel

Where: 6878 Hollister Avenue

What: At the corner of Hollister and Storke, this 138-room hotel ​— ​with 180 parking spaces and a rooftop deck ​— ​is projected to bring in $700,000 in hotel bed taxes per year.

Status: It was approved by the City Council in November, and the developer hopes to begin construction in June.

9) Cabrillo Business Park

Where: 6767 Hollister Avenue

What: Spanning 92 acres, this business park will include the new headquarters for Deckers Outdoor Corporation.

Status: Developers broke ground in 2009; construction continues, but Deckers expects its building to be done by February.

Status: A public hearing on a draft of the Environmental Impact Report is scheduled for January.

11) Target

Where: 170 Los Carneros Way and 6466 Hollister Avenue

What: As of a Design Review Board meeting in April, the store would be 160,000 square feet, with two stories ​— ​the first floor for parking, the second floor for shopping ​— ​as well as an outdoor eating area.

Status: The bull’s-eye store is making its way through the city’s approval process but could be years away from arriving.

12) Marriott Residence Inn

Where: 6300 Hollister Avenue

What: If approved, this extended-stay, close-to-the-airport, 118-room hotel would likely be popular with business travelers.

Status: A hearing on the project has been delayed to a date to be determined.

13) Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital

Where: 351 South Patterson Avenue

What: The new hospital, being renovated for better earthquake safety, will be two stories and 152,000 square feet, and will include expanded Surgical Services and Emergency departments, plus 52 new beds (but minus a subacute wing).

How many of these developers are building green? If I had to guess, I would say zero. I don't find any of these projects exciting in any way. Business as usual, a bunch of mediocre buildings that offer nothing worthwhile to our community.

Can we please stop referring to Goleta as "the Good Land?" It was a catchy title of a local history book back in the day, but through overuse, that tag is becoming hackneyed to the max. How about calling it...oh, I don't know...Goleta?

Rex makes a good point. There,s not much land left, let alone "good land". The Goleta city council under the mayoralty of Roger Aceves and immediately before him architect Ed Easton has been busy while few residents there seem to care.

Here's an idea: Put a drive thru Taco Bell in the Haskell's Landing project. That development is an ugly dump and totally defiles the Gaviota Coast -- all while advertising with pictures of the Bacara & Naples Beach area as if some unsuspecting dupe will buy one of those puny tacky units thinking they'll get special access to local surf spots upcoast! Ha... what a joke.

You can thank UCSB for starting this deluge of development. They are the ones who ignored the community by increasing student population and faculty/families by 15,000 per their plan. The traffic now is nearly unbearable around Hollister/Storke and will get worse I'm sure. God forbid there will be an emergency condition requiring evacuation from the area.

What does COG plan to do with the extra revenue? Probably give themselves and all the other hired in police and fire raises and pension bumps. Don't plan on anything that actually benefits the whole community.

Wow...what a bunch of haters. The buildings many Santa Barbarians love today were the greedy developer's dreams of yester-year. That 1960's track house you might live in out in Goleta was some other developer's "monstrosity" from 50 years ago. I understand that "enough is enough" at some point, but you can't realistically think that these projects are fast tracked with little or no oversight or scrutiny. Everything has to be Title 24 compliant. Anything along the coast is subject to increased Coastal Commission oversight. The big bully seems to be UCSB and their ever-increasing enrollment. Supply and demand follows from there. Or maybe it should be demand and then supply follow...